hostage negotiators have been talking regularly to the kidnapper, 65-year-old jimmy lee dykes, through a ventilation pipe. >> that's an innocent kid, let him go back to his parents. he's crying for his parents and his grandparents and he does not know what's going on. >> reporter: police say the two are in a six by eight foot bunker four feet underground. >> i've actually seen the hole, the bunker he's in now. he's got steps made out of cinder blocks going down to it. >> reporter: authorities say the veteran has enough supplies to last for weeks. he is allowing the boy, described as a child with autism, to watch television and take medication sent down through that pipe. alabama state senator harri anne smith has been with the child's mother since the beginning of the standoff. >> ethan's mom did want me to convey a message to the community and the people of this area, that she's extremely grateful for all the prayers. that that's what's getting her through. >> reporter: the ordeal began tuesday, when the suspect stormed a school bus, demanding to remove children. a heroic bus driver,